
It’s the battle for the future of camping, air tents vs traditional pole tents, who will reign supreme!?
What’s all the fuss about?
For many a moon, a tent was only supported by a pole system. This kept the tent rigid and formed some peace of mind against natural elements of wind and adverse weather.
However, in last few years, a new kid has arrived on the block – the Air tent.
So how does an air tent work?
Ever seen those huge inflatable kites that surfers have been using the last few years? Well, those kites consist of an internal TPU bladder (which holds the air) and an external covering of fabric, which both shapes and stops the bladder from expansion, thus keeping its shape and pressure.

Sounds interesting, but how strong is it?
An air tent gets its structural integrity from the compressed air inside the tubes. If inflated properly, and with the right design, air tents far outperform traditional pole tents in strength and durability.
Set Up Time

These days, pole tents are quite easy to set up, so long as the poles are numbered properly and a detailed diagram of set up instructions provided.
Generally at least 2 people will be required to set up a pole tent / awning, it can be a bit frustrating at times and usually takes around 15 min for main tent and a further 20 min for awning. All in, expect to work on a set up time of + – 45 min.
Now when dealing with our air tent system, it’s a matter of pushing a button and letting the air do all the work.
The air awning and air bathroom are also sometimes all inter-connected, so all 3 structures will inflate at same time. Total set up time, under 10 minutes.
Poles snap, tubes bend. That’s the bottom line. Air beams have the ability to be incredibly strong and rigid which directly effects its performance in wind.
Air beams might move around a bit, but wont ever snap, like poles.
Another benefit of air beams is you get a much higher space inside the tent due to the structure inflating, where as with poles, you need a ladder or step to get the structure to a higher point.
Take Down
It’s Sunday morning, you had a few too many brandies around the fire, and now it’s time to pack up and go home. This is where simplicity is going to matter…
Traditional pole tents become the nemesis… unclicking each pole, loosening and shortening them, having canvas flapping all over you as the structure collapses – this is not what you want on the day of packdown!
With our air tents, simply open the release valve and the complete tent, awning and bathroom will collapse by itself into the trailer and wala! You’re done. Total set down time, under 5 minutes.
Repair and Maintenance.
We’ve all been there before, your extension pole gets stuck or bent and that’s the end of that.
Well, air beams work a bit differently, should you ever get a leak or puncture, they are incredibly easy to fix and you’ll be back up and camping within 15 minutes.
Simply remove the TPU tube, patch the leak or puncture with a provided repair kit, wait 5 minutes for it to set, and you are done!
Transportation

Family pole tents take up some serious real estate in travel mode.
Throw in an awning and you’ve got well over 20 poles to find a place to store – valuable space you could be using for say, packing more six packs!
Because the beams fold flat, you can simply deflate and store the tent full attached inside the main trailer space. This leaves all other storage open for other camping gear.
The Conclusion
With the invention of air beams, the pole tent as we know it will eventually be phased out for this much improved technology.
Air beams have so many advantages over traditional pole beams including being able to create a huge amount of internal space because of the inflation dynamic.
Air beams also have the ability to bend and reshape with wind, whereas poles will bend / snap / deform and become un-usable.
The air beam is the future of camping and we are proud to be the first company in South Arica to bring you this revolutionary technology!
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